Partners
by polka-dotted-pengiuns
Summary: Falling asleep on the couch with a movie blaring in the background is perfectly fine with your best friend. Normal, even. Loosing that relationship could never be worth it. She didn’t want it to change ever in a million billion years.' Nita/Kit


**A/N: I'm alive! Just thought you should know. Our upcoming dance inspired yet another dance themed fic and they're oh so fun to write. Me and the boy are probably going to burger king for our dinner because women pay all, I'm poor, and they give out fabulous hats anyway. Enjoy pals : )**

Senior year had been very kind to Nita. She had abandoned the 'too cool for school' crowd and, instead, joined the school's astronomy club on a whim. Soon after she and Kit made a trip to Goodwill and donated some of the nicest clothes that the store had ever received, including the black skirt that her mom had hated so much. She dressed as she pleased, allowed her hair to curl, and embraced her geeky side with an extra course on biology and advanced astronomy. She felt herself and she enjoyed it.

Nita stood in the doorway to her living room waiting for Kit to glance up from the old movie that he was engrossed in. Her dress ruffled and Kit's head turned sharply. He smiled.

"It's beautiful, Nita." Kit's smile was radiant in the dim family room.

Nita laughed and swooshed her skirts. "Thanks. I'm still not sure that blue was the best color, the green-

Kit stood, crossed the room in two strides, and placed his hands on her shoulders just as the door bell chimed throughout the house. "It looks great. That's probably him, I should go."

"No, wait!" Nita wasn't quite sure why she chased him down. He didn't need to be here and Kit had made it quite clear that he had no interest in going with her group tonight. Something held her hand on his arm though and she definitely wished she knew what it was. She wanted him there.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?"

Kit laughed. "I'm sure. I don't think I'd be allowed in wearing this." Kit gestured to his old T-shirt and slick soccer pants. Nita loved it when he wore those because when they sat on the couch and watched movies she could feel the cool material every time he shifted. She hadn't tonight though, with the draping skirts obscuring her legs. The pants looked good on him even so, made him look tall and slender.

She sighed.

"Well if you're sure."

Kit smiled again, staring at a point just beyond her. "I'm sure." His eyes were on her again. "Go and have fun."

The door bell rang again.

"Why aren't you going?" Nita wasn't sure why she was here in the doorway still, when she had clearly had enough time to answer the door and let poor David in out of the cold. She attributed in to her inner friend wanting to be sure of Kit's wellbeing.

"Because the girl I wanted to go with got asked."

"Aw, that sucks. Was it Anna Hopkins?" Nita asked eagerly. She hadn't known that Kit had wanted to ask someone.

"Na," Kit smiled. "Out of my league. Plus I'm more of a brunette kind of guy. Blondes are a little much."

Nita laughed. "Alright. Go home and get some sleep."

Kit was bewildered. "It's only eight o'clock."

"I know," Nita smiled, "but I'll be waking you up at about two thirty when I get home to tell you all about it and how much more fun it would have been if you'd have been there."

Kit sighed, "I told-

"What?" Nita shouted over him as the doorbell rang again. She began to shove him towards the door before he found a chance to refute her. "Is that you saying you agree with me? I think it is! You should go rest. Night Kit!"

Kit broke free of Nita's iron grasp and headed towards the back door. He glanced back and Nita watched him laugh softly to himself, shake his head. "Night Nita. Have fun."

With a creak of the door, he was gone and Nita could breathe again. She inhaled deeply, smoothed her gown, and opened the door.

"Hey, Nita. Wow, you look great."

It grated in her ears.

"Thanks. Ready to go?"

------------------------------------

She enjoyed herself. David was good company and a good dance partner. He held all of the doors for her, pulled her seat out for her, and even held her hand underneath the dinner table. This bothered Nita and she couldn't for the life of her figure out why; she had held hands with people all the time in a non-romantic setting. She attributed it to butterflies from a change in scenery and in proximity. David was sure sitting awfully close to her.

They walked home together and David held his arm around her to protect her from the chilly February wind. Nita guided him to her house and when they arrived, he lingered at the door.

"I had a great time tonight." David smiled tenderly at her, quite unlike his normal sassy grin. The change was disconcerting.

"Yeah, I did too. Great." Nita fumbled to find her keys.

David stepped closer, then back, and laughed. "I'm sorry this is so awkward. I don't know what you're comfortable with though. Hug? Kiss?"

Nita felt her heart shoot up into her throat as the word Kiss hung in the air. Finding the correct key, she angled her head up towards David once more.

"Hug," she grinned.

"Oh," he laughed, sidling closer towards her in the faint porch light. "Don't kiss on the first date?"

"Nope," Nita grinned and gave her friend a hug. "I'm not that kind of girl."

They held each other a bit too long and their nervous laughter, more breath than sound, was visible in the night air. David pulled away.

"Those aren't your keys are they? Or did you just get a new key chain."

Nita glanced down at the keys in her hands. Of course they were the right keys; she was dropping her purse off inside her unlocked door and then heading over to Kit's house—

"Oh!" Nita laughed, realizing that her habits probably made no sense to those less familiar with them. "No, my dad's still awake and my door isn't locked. These are keys to Kit's house so I don't have to ring the doorbell and wake everyone up…"

It made perfect sense and she couldn't figure out why David looked so dejected.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Nita was concerned. The poor kid didn't look well at all.

David forced a smile and laughed a laugh that was more made of bitter sigh than it was of joy. He shook his head, kicked at a clod of icy snow, and shoved his hands deep within his pockets.

"I should have known," he sighed. "I thought I had a chance and I just—

He turned his downcast eyes to Nita and shook his head in disbelief.

"What more could I have done? You said yes, so obviously something was there. I blew it."

David was one of those one in a thousand boys that should be seized immediately when free for the taking. Nita knew she should seize the chance, snatch him up, live happily ever after. She wanted to, tried to, but it wouldn't come. She wasn't that type of girl.

His relentless gaze set her alight with shame. She burned with it. She had broken David, one of her favorite people, all because she had been too stupid to think about his feelings for a moment. She enjoyed spending time with him, chatting easily, she didn't realize the effect it had on him.

He laughed that sighing laugh again. "Why did you let me? Hold your hand, dance with you, hold you?"

Nita was no longer burning, she was drowning. Drowning in the shame that she knew she deserved every bit of.

"I don't know." Curiosity brought Nita's gaze up to David's once more. "How come pulling out Kit's keys makes you think that I don't want to be with you?"

David smiled fondly down at her. He was handsome when he smiled, tousled his hair, smoothed his shirt. She wanted to want him.

"Nita, what _is_ Kit to you?"

It was out of her mouth before she even had time to process it. Didn't even know it had left her mouth until she, surprised, heard it reverberating boldly in the air.

"My best friend."

Even skepticism looked good on this boy. "_Really_?"

Nita felt defensive. "Yes. So what of it? If you're going to tell me—

She was cut off by David's lips over her own. It felt nice, but that was all that it felt. Just a kiss from just a friend and it left her feeling like there should be more.

David pulled back and smiled that crooked, handsome, so so sad smile. "It wasn't right was it?"

Nita quietly shook her head, fingers to her lips, still processing what happened.

"What would have made it right? His eyes were boring into her. "_Who_ would have made it right?

"I don't know," Nita's words were slightly muddied, she was still fingering her lips. Her lips which weren't tingling from David's kiss, no matter how hard she willed them too.

"Think Nita," David leaned his back against her squeaky screen storm door. "Whose kiss would have lit your world on fire?"

"I don't know," Her words weren't muddied this time so much as frustrated. And confused. And just a little bit angry. "I don't know, alright?"

David pulled at his beautiful dark hair, "God, this kid had better appreciate me!" At Nit's confused gaze, he elaborated. "Go see him Nita. Go show him your dress again, show him a few pictures, and pray that he doesn't feel like I do right now!"

"I'm sorry!" It was louder than she had meant it to be, but she couldn't find it in herself to care all that much.

David pulled her into another hug, a less intimate one than the hug that they had shared earlier, and one that felt comforting and safe like the friend hugs that they'd always shared. _This_ felt right. _This_ was how they were supposed to be.

"I know. It's okay."

"You're sure?"" Nita hastily blinked her stinging eyes.

David smiled down at her, that big brotherly smile that she had come to seek and respect. "Yes, I'm sure. Go talk to him now. Don't let me hold you up, I'll be fine."

Nita gave him one last squeeze, just for good measure. "Thank you."

He placed a kiss on her forehead, a friendly one that they'd shared before. "You're welcome." His grin turned mischievous and wolfish, "I want the full story tomorrow."

Nita laughed, genuinely this time. "Deal."

------------------

With each step she took around the block to Kit's, another butterfly manifested itself in her tummy. She was beginning to feel sick with fear and doubt and wanted to turn around right then. But she felt that she needed to act on David's advice, talk with Kit, ask some questions. She felt like she'd missed a week of school, too many missed lessons and no place to start. She had no idea where to begin.

Nita's stinging nose as she bumped into Kit's red red back door returned her attention to the matter at hand. She raised her hand to knock quietly at the door when Kit opened it, and his devil may care grin was nearly splitting his face and it acted as the final push to a very confusing night. Everything came bubbling to the surface.

"Hey, Neets – Oh gosh!"

She tackled him. Mowed him down. Nailed him full force with the most powerful fug that she had ever given ever. She didn't want to think anymore because it was all leading in circles. What should she do? What should she say? What should she ask first? What's even going on? She stopped and all she could do was bury her face in Kit's shoulder and cry and cry until she cried it all out and everything was better. Because he always made everything better.

"Neets. Nita! What's wrong? What happened?"

He pried her away from his body and took her head in his hands. Wiped away her tears. Smoothed her bedraggled hair. The complete rightness of it all made her cry even harder because asking him would change everything. But if she didn't ask him then it would drive her crazy until she did. She was so confused. She just wanted everything to stay the same and she couldn't figure out a way to make that happen.

Falling asleep on the couch with a movie blaring in the background is perfectly fine with your best friend. Normal, even. Loosing that relationship could never be worth it. She didn't want it to change ever in a million billion years.

"Nita! What is _wrong_? Tell me right now!" His dark eyes were darting rapidly between her light ones and that worried crease had appeared on his forehead. His mouth appeared too small as it sat still beneath his nose, not stretched widely across his face in a smirk or grin. She wanted it back.

"Oh God, Neets you just keep going. Shhhh." She felt Kit's arms guiding her down until he'd placed her softly on the steps leading down to his backyard.

"Did things go bad with David? What happened? I'll kick his ass."

"But you like him," Her voice was barely comprehensible through the hiccups and snot and sobs threatening to over power it.

He laughed and tried to wipe away some of her mess with his jacket sleeve. "Not as much as you. What did he do?"

"He made me think about things that I didn't want to think about!"

Kit mock gasped. "That dirty bastard!"

Nita laughed but she cried. She loved Kit the way you do a teddy bear and loosing him would shake the very foundations of her world. Life would not go on. He'd integrated himself too deeply.

After another few minutes of unabashed bawling into Kit's far too understanding shoulder she managed to regain a bit of control over herself. Since it wasn't enough to make her properly embarrassed, she decided to stumble ahead with what had been weighing on her mind all night

"What are we?"

The worried forehead wrinkle turned to a bemused one as he stared down at her. Then she felt the sturdy rise and fall of his shoulder as he shrugged.

"Well it depends on who you ask I suppose. I mean Roshaun would- -

"No! We like _we_. You me we!" She knew she sounded ridiculous but she didn't care, she had to know. Right now she felt like she was in some pathetic cut scene from When Harry Met Sally. To want him or not to want him. She needed answers. "What are we, Kit?"

He smiled and left his arm around her even though she was done crying. It was just the way she liked it as he rocked her back and forth gently, swaying to whatever song that he lived to.

"Well, you're my best friend. My chemistry tutor. My partner—

"That's it, Kit!" He'd put his finger on what she had been trying to say. Partners. But in what? Wizardry. Class. Friendship. _Life_? "Where does that _end_? Where do we stop?"

His grin turned wicked as he laughed but there was something that he was trying to cover. He wouldn't look at her and kept scraping his beaten Chucks along the concrete patio. "I'd say where Ronan and David's tongues start. But I suppose that's subjective."

"You saw?"

"I did." He laughed and it almost sounded normal. Almost sounded like that was all that he had to say about it.

"I don't like Ronan's tongue. Or David's." She didn't realize that it had come out of her mouth until Kit nudged her shoulder and laughed again. This time it was too loud and made him clap his hands softly. Just like normal.

"Neither do I. Much too wet for my tastes. Flimsy too."

Nita laughed despite herself. "That not what I—

She was cut off by Kit's mouth gently easing itself onto hers. She felt every single one of those nervous butterflies explode in her stomach and rise to her throat with her fiery heart. She took a shuddering breath before she buried her hands into his familiar soft hair, hair that she had mussed on a daily basis for the last five or so years.

It was a very Kit sort of kiss. Warm, gentle, playful as he smiled against her, more lips than tongue. This felt right. This lit her world on fire. His mind was sunshine yellow and she never wanted to leave.

She didn't care where their partnership ended, she wanted to see where it could go.

His fingers entwined around her own as they rested on his leg.

**The fluffiest of fluff. **


End file.
